Keen interest in proposed bus changes

People interested in the proposed
Wellington City bus changes are being encouraged to check
the Greater Wellington website regularly for updated
questions and answers.

Peter Glensor, Chair of Greater
Wellington’s Economic Wellbeing Committee, says people
have been flooding the email inbox with questions about
their specific areas.“Many of the questions are
common, relating to route details, so we’re updating our
website regularly in response to the themes that are
emerging.

“People want to know, for example, what route
would replace the #20 Highbury route or whether there would
be additional peak services on the Wilton bus route. Because
we’re proposing an essentially new network across the
city, in most cases you can’t get a direct comparison
between a current route and a proposed route.”

Also, a series of drop in sessions will begin next week
where Greater Wellington staff will be on hand to answer
questions and discuss the proposal with people. A list of
session times and venues is attached.

“The
proposed changes are wide-ranging and quite complex and
we’d strongly encourage people to check out the Q & As
first, and if they still have questions, to email us at ptreview@gw.govt.nz or leave a message
on 04 830 4071.

“I fully appreciate that
Wellington City bus routes haven’t changed significantly
for about 20 years so the proposed changes are big for many
people. However, these proposals haven’t come out of the
blue. They are the result of a review that has been going on
for more than two years. We had one round of public
consultation in early 2010 where people told us they wanted
more bus services throughout the day, evening and weekends,
better travel times through the CBD and they wanted better
connections for cross city travel.

“Since that
first round of consultation we’ve worked closely with bus
operators, Wellington City Council transport staff and
international public transport consultants on a proposal
that would give people what they said they would like. We
tested some of the concepts out with focus groups and other
interested people and now we’re asking the wider community
what they think.”

Information about the proposed
changes are at www.gw.govt.nz/bus People need to give
their feedback by Friday 16 March.

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